Game Preview

Cornell women put up good fight but fall to No. 21/No. 17 Princeton

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ITHACA, N.Y. – The Cornell Big Red put up a good fight, but the Princeton Tigers pulled away in the second half for a 69-50 victory, marking their 26th win of the season.

“I’m proud of them,” said Cornell coach Dayna Smith about her team. “I’m proud of the effort we played with today. We talked about worrying about us and what we can accomplish and execute, and we did that. Princeton is a phenomenal team. They’re going to do some great things down the stretch here.”

The Big Red (10-16, 3-11 Ivy) starting five consisted of all starters, and a sixth senior, Laura Bagwell-Katalinich, came off the bench. The six seniors combined for 48 of Cornell’s 50 points, as they got the majority of the minutes.

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Matt Morgan’s 41 points lead Cornell past Dartmouth, 83-80

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Matt Morgan had 41 points on a very efficient 13-for-18 night with nine threes, and Josh Warren hit four clutch free-throws in the final 20 seconds and Cornell held on for an 83-80 victory over the Dartmouth Big Green, in Hanover. Cornell went to 11-10 (3-2 Ivy) with the win, and Dartmouth fell to 10-11 (1-4), losing its last four Ivy games after picking up a blowout win over Harvard in their opener.

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Let the Game Previews Begin!

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The Ivies are opening their seasons tonight and tomorrow night, so let’s just commence with the game previews already.

The Teams: Yale (0-0) at Quinnipiac (0-0), Friday, 5:30 p.m.

The Skinny: Quinnipiac returns several key pieces from last year’s Bobcats squad that won seven of eight games in February and carried that momentum into a 69-68 CIT opening-round loss to Yale. Still, two of Quinnipiac’s top three scorers from a season ago – Ike Azotam and Umar Shannon – have graduated, leaving senior guard Zaid Hearst to help fill their void. Expect Yale to win this grudge match as Quinnipiac’s offense searches for its identity in its very first game of the season.

The Teams: MIT (0-0) at No. 25 Harvard (0-0), Friday, 7 p.m.

The Skinny: Division III at nationally ranked Division I, anyone? Last season, Harvard blasted MIT, 79-37, so even though MIT returns its top two scorers in senior forwards Matt Redfield and Andrew Acker, the Crimson will win their 10th straight home opener tonight.

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Cornell at Syracuse: Scouting Report from SUJuiceOnline

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Cornell returns to the Carrier Dome tonight, the site of the program's greatest moment in the 2010 Sweet 16.
Cornell returns to the Carrier Dome tonight, the site of the program’s greatest moment in the 2010 Sweet 16.

In honor of the first game of the Ivy season tonight between Cornell and Syracuse, we got in touch with our friends over at SUJuiceOnline.com to see what the Big Red will be up against. Wesley Cheng was nice enough to give us a scouting report on the Orange. Our exchange is below. If you want to read up on Cornell, check out Jake Mastbaum’s season preview of the Big Red here.

IHO: What kind of team is Syracuse this year? Will they compete for the ACC title?
WC: Syracuse is going to be in the mix for the Final Four again this year. Although they lost three key players from last year’s team — Reigning NBA Eastern Conference Player of the Week Michael Carter-Williams, Charlotte Bobcats’ James Southerland, and Brandon Triche — they still have plenty of talent to compete in their first season in the ACC. They were picked No. 2 in the Coaches’ Poll behind Duke and will face the Blue Devils twice this season in a home-and-home that could determine how the standings end up at the end of the regular season. 

IHO: Who should we be on the lookout for?
WC: There are two that will stand out, albeit for different reasons. Tyler Ennis is Syracuse’s new starting point guard, taking over for Carter-Williams. Ennis has showed a lot of poise in preseason and SU doesn’t have a true backup point guard behind him. Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim said he was going to play between 35-38 minutes a game as a result, which is a lot to put on a freshman. Syracuse will go only as far as he takes them. The other guy to watch out for is ACC Preseason Player of the Year CJ Fair. The senior from Baltimore thought briefly about jumping to the NBA before coming back for his senior season. He can score in a variety of ways, including a silky smooth 3-point shot, and a lefty floater that is very effective. He’s also worked on his post game in the offseason. I expect him to be in the 18-8 range this year.

IHO: Predictions on the game?
WC: It’s going to be a sloppy first half as everyone gets used to playing with each other. The 2-3 zone is always a tough thing to learn, and Syracuse has three new starters to integrate into that system. I expect Cornell to hang with Syracuse before the Orange ultimately pull away in the second half for a 20+ point win.


Check out more from Wesley Cheng and The Juice at SUJuiceOnline.com or on Twitter at @TheJuiceOnline.

Game Preview: Princeton at Syracuse

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Princeton visits Syracuse in one of the Ivy League”s most daunting non-conference matchups of the season tomorrow evening. In anticipation of this contest, we sat down with our friends over at  to get the scoop on this year”s Orange squad.

Tell us about your site.

Wesley Cheng:  has been around since 1992. We started as a print magazine and then took our talents to the online world in 2010. Since then, we”ve joined the SNY.tv blog network, covering Syracuse Orange men”s basketball, football and lacrosse.

What is the major storyline around Syracuse this year?

WC: The biggest thing for SU has been replacing the losses of Fab Melo, Dion Waiters and Kris Joseph, who all went to the NBA, and Scoop Jardine, who graduated. They accounted for 58 percent of the Orange”s offense last season, and a lot of teams would be in a rebuilding year. Not Syracuse, though. They”ve got a younger team, but in some ways, they may

be more talented. The starting lineup features three McDonald”s All Americans (two sophomores and a freshman), and several players who can create their own shot. The Orange played a 10-man rotation last season, and Syracuse will once again have a deep bench this season, playing as many as nine guys. Syracuse will once again be prolific in the vaunted 2-3 zone. The shortest scholarship player is 6″4″, and the Orange can trot out a lineup that features three players at 6″9″ or taller in the front court.

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Game Preview: Cornell at Princeton

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Chris Wroblewski is going to need to control the tempo if the Big Red are going to get back on track at Princeton tonight. (Photo Credit: cornellbasketballblog.blogspot.com)

Coming into the weekend, Cornell and Princeton were arguably the hottest Ivy League teams. Both teams entered Friday night looking to capture its longest winning streak of the season after collectively dismissing arguably the two best teams in the conference, Harvard and Yale. Friday night, Princeton surged in the second half to top Columbia while Cornell faltered late and fell at the Palestra. Princeton, who has probably been the most inconsistent team in the league this season will have to put together a complete effort if it doesn’t want to find itself being swept by Cornell for the second time in the last three seasons.

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Game Preview: Dartmouth at Penn

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Jvonte Brooks has been on a tear for the Big Green, but it has yet to translate into victories for the winless squad that heads to the Palestra tonight. (Photo Credit: dartmouthsports.com)

The Big Green visit the Palestra tonight after losing yet another second half lead last night at Princeton. The freshmen continue to produce and get valuable court time, but the experience has yet to translate into victories for 0-7 Dartmouth. On the other hand, a frustrated Penn team held Harvard's most potent weapons to 1-15 shooting from the field last night and still lost 56-50. Zack Rosen took the blame for the loss, having shot 6-21 from the field. Penn will look to get back on the right foot tonight, while being in the uncomfortable position of having to root for rivals Princeton against Harvard. If the Tigers can pull the upset at Jadwin, all is not lost for Penn, as the Quakers would still control their own destiny, though it would of course necessitate winning at Harvard.

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Game Preview: Yale at Columbia

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Meiko Lyles was en fuego Friday night at Levien. He'll look to continue the hot streak Saturday against Yale. (Photo Credit: gocolumbialions.com)

Yale vs. Columbia usually provides fans with a good show. Sometimes the games are meaningful, other times they are for nothing more than bragging rights among two teams separated by a 15 dollar Metro-North ticket which usually leads to a good crowd. This one does mean something. Despite the overtime loss in Ithaca, the Bulldogs are within two games of first place with Harvard still on the schedule one more time.

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Game Preview: Brown at Columbia

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Columbia will rely on Mark Cisco in the post to attack a depleted Brown front court as the Lions take on the Bears at Levien on Friday night. (Photo credit: gocolumbialions.com)

Columbia comes into this matchup with some positive momentum after splitting last weekend's northern jaunt up to Hanover and Allston. The more impressive performance for the Lions came in the loss to Harvard, a game Columbia trailed by two with only minutes remaining. Barbour continues his impressive run through the league as the conference's leading scorer and Cisco is right on Mangano's heels as one of the league's top rebounders. When the Lions get solid production from a third player, usually Lyles or Rosenberg, they are a dangerous team.

Brown, on the other hand, continues to struggle. The Bears looked promising through their first four Ivy games, getting a victory at home against Dartmouth, and keeping things interesting against Yale and Harvard. Last weekend was a big step back though, as the Bears' roster was depleted due to injury. Princeton came into the Pizz and pulled away early, never looking back in a double-digit victory, and an angry Penn team came in the next night and did the same thing. At 1-5, things look like they may be unraveling quickly for a Brown team with some very tough road trips still on the schedule.

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Game Preview: Yale at Cornell

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Shonn Miller and Co. will try to move to over .500 in conference when Cornell takes on Yale on Friday night in Ithaca. (Photo Credit: cornellsun.com)

Yale may not come into Ithaca with the fanfare and national following that

will surround Harvard’s visit in three weeks, but James Jones’ squad is quietly getting things done. The Bulldogs have not won even a share of the Ivy League title since the 2001-2002 season, but are one of three remaining legitimate contenders to this year’s crown. The Bulldogs come into Newman Arena Friday night as hot as any Ivy team. Yale, winner of seven of its last eight, enters the weekend straight off its first sweep of Penn and Princeton since the 2006-07 season. Cornell on the other hand is right about where we expected. The Big Red sits at 3-3 in the league play, a half game up on Princeton for 4th in the Ivy standings. A solid showing at home against Yale and Brown will keep the Big Red in the upper half of the league, where Bill Courtney believes his squad belongs.

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